Cayden James discovers a secret about the Green Arrow that pushes him over the edge. Knowing everyone and everything he loves is in danger, Oliver must decide if he can do this alone of if he needs to turn to his old teammates for help. William starts to demand more of Oliver's time.

What a waste of Michael Emerson's talents this season has turned out to be. Ugh.

I was so confused by that special-effects-only Flash cameo -- wondering if I'd missed a scene somewhere that gave Diggle a speedster-power option on his suit, didn't realize until reading the recap that it was meant to be a Barry appearance.posted by oh yeah! at 4:38 AM on February 9, 2018

I know Anatoly and Oliver are on the outs these days, but damn if it didn't make me happy to see him shoot Rene multiple times. Sadly, none of those bullets got past the body armour. Personally I'd be so much happier to swap our favourite Russian mobster with Wild Dog.

William is an idiot pure and simple. I really hope they do something with his character. I have no idea what that should be, but it needs to be something.

Somehow I just can't see Diaz as the mastermind behind all of this. How did he ever get a spy into Helix in the first place? And why bother? His plan to enlist James in an unwitting alliance to destroy the city seems highly unlikely, despite the added manipulation of Oliver.

In contrast to my feelings about killing Rene, I would have been perfectly happy for the show to have kept James alive so he could be brought back (sparingly) a season or two from now in a uneasy alliance between former enemies scenario.

As for the Helix hacker, it's got to be Alena, right?posted by sardonyx at 9:34 PM on February 9, 2018

Oliver should redo the paternity test, William might actually be Barry's son.posted by FallowKing at 9:44 PM on February 9, 2018 [6 favorites]

Also how old was the actor who played Owen? At one point I had to double check the name and team logo on his uniform to make sure it said high school and not university.posted by sardonyx at 9:44 PM on February 9, 2018

Also, I never put the clues together that Diaz was supposed to be Richard Dragon. I didn't bother with the New 52 version of GA, so I didn't know about the reboot of Richard Dragon into a completely new and unrecognizable (to me) character.

I understand there are the similar problems with the original Richard Dragon that were hotly debated when Iron Fist casting was announced and then again when the show debuted, but as the martial arts master for a number of non-powered DC heroes, he had an important and useful role to play.

Personally, I think he could have been a more interesting character for the Arrowverse in his original form rather than as a generic baddie, which is all he has been so far, especially as I can't really see any potential path to growth so he an evolve beyond generic baddie.posted by sardonyx at 10:07 PM on February 9, 2018

Oliver should redo the paternity test, William might actually be Barry's son.
posted by FallowKing

OMG! That's the funniest thing I've read on the Internet in ages! Thanks for the laugh.posted by sardonyx at 10:08 PM on February 9, 2018

Is Jack Moore having a growth spurt? William looked noticeably taller and older to me in this episode compared to the beginning of the season.

Other than than I have nothing to say about this episode, which was garbage.posted by plastic_animals at 6:15 AM on February 10, 2018

I liked the episode enough. I figured it was Diaz since they wouldn't have either Anatoly or Laurel be the ones to frame Oliver. I also thought it was lame that it's him since he seemed so generic, but I guess that's the devil's greatest trick.posted by numaner at 10:55 AM on February 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

God, I don't care about William or any other party pooper type characters who just want their loved ones to stay home and safe with the Netflix. That's too much like our own boring realities. I have zero interest in that kid, there's nothing interesting about his personality, and he is just there to ruin the fun.posted by jenfullmoon at 9:44 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

this is liberal hollywood propaganda for birth controlposted by numaner at 7:11 AM on February 12, 2018

Hey gang - I’m not going to have a chance to see tonight’s episode until Monday sometime, so, whoever feels like posting the new Arrow thread should have at it.posted by oh yeah! at 3:14 PM on March 1, 2018